Juliana: It does seem astonishing that the first understandable and accessible book on Jyotish in the West came out only recently, relatively speaking.
James: Honestly, after learning Jyotish I was so surprised that no one had yet written a good book for Westerners on the subject. So I worked hard and wrote seven days a week, to get it finished as quickly as I could. I remember taking one day off, the only one during the entire project. I went to the beach with a friend, and brought a pad and paper in case any thoughts might come. I wrote the Introduction that day. That was actually toward the very end of what was a nine or ten-month project.
Juliana: It was self-published?
James: Yes. I wanted to self-publish from day one, because I wanted a large hard cover book with a very particular kind of format that would make the reading as clear as possible. I knew that most publishers would likely not do that. What shocked me, though, was when I decided that maybe I should at least find out what publishers would offer for the text. If they wanted to make me rich, I figured I could forgo the big hardcover part. Ha! I sent the manuscript to three metaphysical publishers who all swiftly rejected it. I was shocked. So, I called one of them to find out what was up — to learn what I may have been missing. They said they loved the book, really loved it, but that Hindu astrology texts had never sold well in the West. I explained that this book would likely change all that, but there was no way they could hear that, based on their experience.
Juliana: What happened when the book came out? I assume it made quite a splash?
James: Oh my gosh, when the book came out in 1986, I immediately began receiving letters from people all over the world thanking me. They almost all said they had previously studied and wanted desperately to learn but couldn’t. I have two giant scrapbooks filled with thank-you letters for that book. One man even sent me this beautiful, wonderfully colored Australian $10 note that I still have. This was thrilling, and I met so many great astrologers and students. I was invited to conferences, and taught workshops all over. I was called to Switzerland a few times and to Iceland. Dennis Harness called me to come teach a workshop in California. Dennis Flaherty called me to do the same in Seattle. I went to spiritual communities to do charts and classes. This was before the two Dennis’ knew each other, and before the wonderful Vedic astrology conferences of the 90’s.
Juliana: How were your earlier lectures received?
James: People loved them, and the excitement they generated was incredible. Students were so hungry to learn Jyotish. But, teaching in groups in the very early days, I must tell you, was difficult. It was hard work. People seemed not to be able to grasp the simplest Jyotish concepts. It took many years before the knowledge was in the atmosphere enough so that students in workshops picked things up reasonably well.
Juliana: You have been a great promoter of upayas, especially Vedic mantras, yagyas and gems, and have shared some miraculous stories about the benefits of these remedial measures in some of your books. Do you still use these remedies personally, and advocate them for others, as well?
James: Not as much as I used to. I always prescribe gemstones, which I find effective and useful and often quite powerful. But I am very direct with my clients that if they think a stone is going to completely cure the ills of an afflicted planet they are likely to be disappointed. The gemstone gives a subtle and powerful effect for sure, but it is not a cure-all.
Juliana: Especially perhaps, not a cure-all for serious karmic afflictions?
James: If a planet or house is afflicted, it’s indicating a lifetime of karmic effects that are likely going to be troublesome and almost certainly require some self-development work or some form of therapy. Yes, the gemstone is a form of therapy, but most people need greater help than that for disturbed areas of life that emanate from childhood traumas and such.
Juliana: And how about yagyas and mantras?
James: I still prescribe yagyas and mantra chanting, but mostly for really bad periods or sub periods that are coming up. And certainly if an upcoming period is dangerous, I always mention everything I can: yagyas, mantras, charity work, and keeping the day that the afflicted planet rules sacred. Sacred means fasting, praying, or just being aware that the particular day of the planet must be honored in some way. If Jupiter is the planetary culprit, I sometimes mention getting a dog and treating it extra well.
Juliana: A dog, really?
James: Jupiter rules dogs, I learned one day in the middle of a seven-day Jupiter yagya. The prayers started on Thursday, Jupiter’s day, and when I woke up on Saturday and went outside to greet the day there was a real surprise waiting for me. I was on my porch and saw a big dog, a giant Labrador, about half a block away. Well, it suddenly made a mad dash, a really mad dash, toward me. As much as I love dogs and have no fear of them, I got scared because he was running at full speed toward me. Within seconds the dog was on the porch jumping on my chest and licking my face. I was okay when I realized he wasn’t trying to hurt me, but holy cow… a strange dog practically knocking me down with affection! When I described this weird happening to an Indian friend, he laughed and said dogs are ruled by Jupiter.
I also, believe it or not, bought two iguanas toward the end of my Rahu dasa, to try and make the period better. Reptiles are ruled by Rahu.
Juliana: Better in what way? Did it work?
James: I didn’t know what to expect, honestly. But it definitely reduced the intense cravings that characterized my Rahu dasa. In that period I always felt “I want more, more, more.” I was never satisfied. Whether the reduction after getting the lizards was only a placebo effect I can’t say, but it positively helped. I clearly noticed an easing.
Now, as to why I don’t use mantras and yagyas and upayas as extensively as I did before, there are two reasons. One is that although yagyas have given positive results in my own life, they haven’t seemed to have had long-lasting effects. They feel more like remedial measures that are effective on a temporary basis, which is why I prescribe them for people who encounter bad periods.
Juliana: Why do you say they don’t seem to have long term effects?
James: Well, they haven’t had such long-term effects in my life. I can’t say for other people. But here’s an example: Prior to my last Venus sub period that started in August 2005, I had done about four or five large Venus yagyas. These were done in India and each one lasted seven days with many priests chanting. That’s a lot of yagyas, especially because they were the large ones. And yet, when the 2005 Venus bhukti started, all hell broke loose — even worse than my previous Venus bhuktis. Venus rules my 1st and 6th houses, and every time Venus rolls around my body and immune system take a huge hit. And this same sort of thing has happened with afflicted planets that I’ve done several yagyas for.
So, my experience is that mantras and yagyas give more of a temporary relief, or an improvement for a specific current crisis. They definitely work, but I would use them more if they showed longer term benefits.
The other reason is because of the change in my life that occurred nine years ago, in 2004. That’s when Sailor Bob Adamson, the Australian Advaita teacher, came to my house for five weeks to give lectures and teach Non-Duality.
Juliana: You wrote a book on that.
James: Yes. Living Reality: My Extraordinary Summer with “Sailor” Bob Adamson. The entire story is there. Basically, this experience was the fulfillment of my spiritual search. I came to see that worldly existence really is maya. It’s a complete illusion, as Easterners have always said. So, I don’t take my experiences so seriously anymore. All the meaning and significance I used to invest in life is gone. Of course, if a client’s suffering is horrific I try to help. But, honestly, I don’t worry so much about transitory experiences anymore, for me or for others. They don’t affect our true nature, which is consciousness or awareness and is untouchable.
Juliana: But your clients may not have the same perspective, right?
James: That's true. And I definitely try to help where I can. But I'm not so quick to want to alter someone's experience unless they are in deep trouble or unless they ask. I still direct people to all kinds of healing Living Reality: My Extraordinary Summer with
therapies like I used to…things like meditation, pranayama, rebirthing, bioenergetic analysis, dietary techniques and all that. But I'm always aware that none of what appears to be happening is real. It looks real, it feels real, and will do so until our bodies, thoughts and feelings bite the dust. But so what? It's the same as ocean water that looks blue, but actually isn't. Or like rainbows that seem to be tangible but aren't.
Juliana: So you still follow the teachings of Sailor Bob? Could you tell us a bit about him and Advaita philosophy?
James: I still talk with Bob once or twice a month. We’re great friends and it’s a very sweet relationship. But we almost never talk Non-Duality. There’s no need. I haven’t read a spiritual book since 2005. In all honesty, it feels like my 9th house, which was the essence of my life from the age of 20 to 53, disappeared into thin air. People read Living Reality and send me emails with wonderful passages on spiritual subjects, and I can’t get past the first page. There’s just no interest, they’re preaching to the choir. Which is not right or wrong, or good or bad, it’s just how I react to that stuff now. Spirituality was my whole life, and now it’s nothing. I don’t talk Non-Duality unless people ask. The Non-Duality website I created was in appr